Domestic violence survivor on the road to recovery

When she arrived at Barrow, Sarah was using a walker and didn’t want to live. Nearly every day for six years, Sarah had experienced horrific violence from her partner-turned-abuser, including being hit in the head with an ax and a baseball bat. She felt hopeless and didn’t know where to turn.

But thanks to an innovative program at the Barrow Concussion and Brain Injury Center, survivors like Sarah are getting the same high quality care for concussion and brain injuries that professional athletes receive.

Barrow was the first institution to identify the link between domestic violence, homelessness and brain injuries. In the last five years, hundreds of patients, many of them are women like Sarah, have received care through the Domestic Violence and Traumatic Brain Injury Program. The program uses a questionnaire to screen every woman that enters a homeless shelter. This simple tool helps women like Sarah get the care they need.

For Sarah, the program offered hope when she needed it most.

“I was actually strangled with a phone cord, hit on the head probably over 120 times. I was held underwater in the tub until I almost passed out, and then he would pull me up. It was one of the games that he played.”

After undergoing extensive rehabilitation, Sarah is well on the road to recovery. Thanks to the domestic violence program, today Sarah is painting, applying for housing and beginning a job search. She hopes to work as an advocate for other victims in the future.

You can watch Sarah’s story in a recent feature from the Today show.

Sarah encourages people to donate to the Barrow Concussion and Brain Injury Center and the domestic violence program, saying,

“Please support this program, as this will save someone’s life like mine. I am saved.”